I was there as a tourist, so to speak. My roommate was asked to lecture on her area of expertise (set design) to a university class, and I was there to provide feedback and emotional support. I was excited to hear her since I loved everything to do with drama and had always dreamed of […]
She Wouldn’t Share
When I was 15, I had a great summer job as a mother’s helper (similar to what the French call an au pair, or basically a glorified babysitter-cum-housekeeper). It was in a suburb of Boston with two well-behaved kids that I knew well. I also got to spend time with a group of kids I […]
It Didn’t Even Sound Like Her
It certainly wasn’t the way I would have done it. I took an online course with a well-known author, who shared his writing process and how he had written three bestselling novels. Someone asked about how he revised: did he rewrite directly on the page, or use the first file as a template to then […]
No Noise
I checked my phone for the third time. No new emails. No texts. Not even any new posts on Instagram? That’s when I knew something was seriously wrong. Turns out, our internet provider (one of the biggest in Canada) was completely down—in fact, down all over the country. At first, it didn’t seem all that […]
I Don’t Regret It
There we were, at the art opening of a friend of a friend: abstract oil and acrylic on canvas, plus some random photographs, at a bona fide art gallery in downtown Toronto. (Please don’t ask me the name of the gallery. . . I was in university at the time, way too young to pay […]
When You “Don’t Know What to Write.”
One of the best holidays I ever had was a side trip to Washington, DC, in my early 30s, while doing research for my PhD. I spent my days at the University of Maryland in College Park, less than an hour from Washington. After hunkering down for eight hours a day in the bowels of […]
You Absolutely Can Do This
I remember the first time I was asked to speak at a conference. My immediate thought was, “But I’m a writer, not a speaker! Who will want to listen to me? I’ve got nothing worthwhile to say. . .” Far too many of us fall into this trap of “I’m not good enough” when we […]
Carob Spice Almonds
[Craving a crunchy, sweet-and-spicy, healthy snack? Carob Spice Almonds are vegan, sugar-free, gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, egg free, soy-free, yeast-free, and low glycemic. Suitable for all stages of an anti-candida diet.] It took me a while to jump on the carob train, but once I did, I was a passenger for life. In case you’re not […]
Triple Chocolate Peppermint Bark
This Chocolate Peppermint Bark is a triple chocolate threat, with a “milk” chocolate base covered with both white chocolate-peppermint and dark chocolate swirls. All that, and it’s vegan, sugar-free, gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, egg free, soy-free, nut-free, yeast-free, and low glycemic, too! Considering my boundless love of chocolate, you’d probably think that my favorite holiday is […]
Lower Oxalate Hummus
Plant-based eaters can rejoice with this new version of hummus that’s also low oxalate! If you love hummus, you’ll love this dip that’s grain-free, egg-free, dairy-free, sugar-free, nut-free, soy-free, corn-free, vegan and candida-friendly. If you know anything about plant-based eaters, you know that there are certain foods with celebrity status: kale, avocado, cashews, nutritional yeast–and […]